Prime Minister Hun Sen called for universal respect for the rights of those with disabilities, as Cambodia marked World Disabled Day Thursday.

Cambodian businesses and non-governmental organizations should provide jobs to qualified people with disabilities, Hun Sen said, speaking at a ceremony at the National Education Institute, in Phnom Penh.

Hun Sen, who lost his left eye in a battle with Lon Nol soldiers, in April 1975, said society should not stigmatize those with disabilities.

“Stop such words like, ‘you, blind,’ or ‘no-legged man,’ because it hurts,” Hun Sen said. “When I hear these words, I hurt, because I’m also a disabled person.”

According to government figures, 1.4 percent of Cambodia’s population is disabled, a figure of about 200,000.